{"id":2622133,"date":"2026-07-01T11:03:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-blocks-virginia-ice-mask-ban-hours-before-going-into-effect\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T11:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:05:00","slug":"judge-blocks-virginia-ice-mask-ban-hours-before-going-into-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-blocks-virginia-ice-mask-ban-hours-before-going-into-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge blocks Virginia ICE mask ban hours before going into effect"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-blocks-virginia-ice-mask-ban-hours-before-going-into-effect%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2622133&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-accuse-biden-of-playing-political-game-over-border-crisis\/\" title=\"House Republicans Accuse Biden of Playing \u2018Political Game\u2019 Over B... Crisis\">federal judge temporarily blocked<\/a> a Virginia law that banned masks for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers just hours before it was set to take effect. U.S.District Judge Robert Payne granted a preliminary injunction in favor of the Department of Justice (DOJ), arguing that Virginia&#8217;s mask ban violated the U.S. Constitution&#8217;s supremacy clause and intergovernmental immunity, which prevent states from <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >regulating federal law enforcement activities<\/a>. The DOJ believes it would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction were denied and is highly likely to succeed on the merits of its case.Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones opposes the ruling but has not indicated whether an appeal will be filed. The mask ban was enacted following criticism of masked federal officers, especially after two American deaths in Minnesota earlier this year. The legislation also included provisions requiring ICE personnel to wear visible badges,which are now enjoined.The case remains ongoing, and similar lawsuits have been filed against mask bans in other states like New Jersey and New York.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal judge blocked a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/virginia\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"96\">Virginia<\/a> law instituting a mask ban for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ice\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ice\/\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> officers hours before the measure would have taken effect on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. District Judge Robert Payne, appointed by former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/george-h-w-bush\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"427\">George H.W. Bush<\/a>, issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"438\">Department of Justice<\/a>. The federal government sued Virginia Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jay-jones\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"19766\">Jay Jones<\/a> and Fairfax County Commonwealth\u2019s Attorney Steven Descano last month over what the plaintiff deemed an \u201cunconstitutional\u201d mask ban.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4632174\/judge-block-virginia-ice-mask-ban\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge blocks Virginia ICE mask ban hours before going into effect<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4630658\/judge-sparkle-sooknanan-complaint-doj\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Bar complaint accuses Biden-appointed district judge of dishonesty during DOJ tenure<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4630150\/judge-bars-trump-administration-blocking-funding-hudson-river-tunnel\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge bars Trump administration from blocking funding for Hudson River tunnel<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/us-v-virginia-order.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/us-v-virginia-order.pdf\">three-page order<\/a>, Payne found that the DOJ \u201cis likely to suffer irreparable injury\u201d if a preliminary injunction were denied. The judge also concluded that the department is \u201clikely to succeed on the merits\u201d of its challenge because the intergovernmental immunity doctrine and the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibit the state from regulating federal law enforcement conduct.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The injunction will last until the Trump administration\u2019s litigation challenging the ban is resolved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones opposes the order, but he did not say whether the state would appeal the decision or seek a stay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Attorney General\u2019s Office strongly disagrees with Judge Payne\u2019s order and will continue defending this important law,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe remain steadfast in our mission to support law enforcement, keep Virginians safe and protect every Virginian\u2019s right to the transparent administration of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In May, Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abigail-spanberger\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11780\">Abigail Spanberger<\/a> (D-VA) signed legislation into law preventing ICE personnel from wearing masks to protect their identities while performing official duties. A provision of the law required officials to wear a visible badge displaying their name. The injunction enjoins that provision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mask ban passed following public criticism of masked federal officers, which was fueled by the deaths of two U.S. citizens in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/minnesota\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"443\">Minnesota<\/a> at the start of the year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After taking office, Spanberger moved to curb the immigration agency\u2019s authority through executive orders. One of them rescinded an executive order signed by her Republican predecessor, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/glenn-youngkin\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1456\">Glenn Youngkin<\/a>, that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tim-scott-blasts-biden-for-executive-order-ripping-off-his-police-reform-bill\/\" title=\"Tim Scott Blasts Biden For Executive ... Ripping Off His Pol... Reform Bill\">required local law enforcement<\/a> to cooperate with ICE officers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spanberger later signed a bill that further limited future collaboration between local and federal authorities. The DOJ challenged this law through a separate legal challenge. Payne scheduled a court hearing on the matter for Aug. 3. His order only applied to Virginia\u2019s mask law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4606979\/doj-sues-virginia-ice-mask-ban\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4606979\/doj-sues-virginia-ice-mask-ban\/\">DOJ SUES VIRGINIA OVER \u2018UNCONSTITUTIONAL\u2019 ICE MASK BAN<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the judge granted the preliminary injunction, federal attorneys argued that an appeals court\u2019s ruling barred\u00a0California\u00a0from enforcing a similar law requiring visible identification for federal officers. The ruling found that the state directly violated the Constitution\u2019s supremacy clause, the same provision cited by the DOJ in its Virginia case.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DOJ has also sued to stop other mask bans in blue states, including <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-jersey\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1065\">New Jersey<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"61\">New York<\/a>. The New Jersey law remains in effect while it\u2019s being litigated, while the New York measure is temporarily blocked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Judge blocks Virginia ICE mask ban hours before enforcement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2622134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26083650401336.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3813,70354,5468],"class_list":["post-2622133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-immigration","tag-mask-mandate","tag-virginia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26083650401336.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2622133"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2622137,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622133\/revisions\/2622137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2622134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2622133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2622133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2622133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}